A16 somm revamps A.G. Ferrari's wine program

A.G. Ferrari is increasing its regional Italian wine selection in all of its Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco stores. (Nick Vasilopoulos)

Ferrari comeback: In an attempt to resurrect A.G. Ferrari as a player in the regional Italian food and wine scene, the owners of the 95-year-old neighborhood cafe and shop, which has locations in Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco, have hired wine consultant Tim Baumann to expand its wine program.

Baumann, an A16 sommelier, plans to update and broaden A.G. Ferrari's selection to showcase all 20 Italian wine regions, with an emphasis on interesting, hard-to-find wines that are excellent values (think Sicily and Sardinia). He has instituted an educational program featuring a different Italian wine region each month and plans to expand in-store educational programming, placing an emphasis on food and wine pairings, and offer in-store tastings with producers visiting from Italy. He also plans to introduce a selection of locally produced Italian varietals. Bring it, Baumann! Details: www.agferrari.com.

Mexican-American vintners: Ceja. Maldonado. Renteria. These are the Napa and Sonoma wineries paving the way for future generations of Mexican-American vintners. In August, take advantage of a rare opportunity to taste the wines from 15 Mexican-American vintners at the Fourth Annual Harvest Festival.

New Los Gatos spot: Vines of Los Gatos, a new tasting room, has opened downtown with a mission to showcase the wines of two local wineries: Fernwood Cellars and Naumann Vineyards.

Fernwood Cellars, on historic Redwood Retreat Road in Gilroy, specializes in handcrafted varietal wines such as cabernet sauvignon, petite sirah and mourvedre. Naumann Vineyards is a small, family estate vineyard that focuses on small lot wines grown on famed Montebello Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Its merlot, chardonnay and rose will be featured at Vines of Los Gatos. Tastings: $10 to $20. Details: 346 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Open 4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; until 5 p.m. Sundays.